STATE GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Holcomb Signs Concurrent Election Order for Second Congressional District
On Tuesday Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Executive Order 22-12, calling a special election in the Second Congressional District. The special election will be held to fill the vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Second Congressional District due to the death of Rep. Jackie Walorski. The special election will be held concurrently with the general election on Nov. 8, 2022.
Indiana Delegation Proposes Walorski Clinic
The Indiana state delegation introduced a bill Sunday to name a clinic after the late Indiana U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski. Under the bill, the St. Joseph County VA Clinic in Mishawaka would become the "Jackie Walorski VA Clinic.” The bill has bipartisan congressional support.
Holcomb Signs SB 1 Into Law
Senators accepted the House-amended version of SB 1 in a 28-19 concurrence vote late last Friday evening after more than three hours of debate. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed SB 1 into law about an hour after the final vote in the Indiana Senate, adding new restrictions on abortions in Indiana.
Holcomb Signs Inflation Relief
The Indiana General Assembly broadly approved a deal providing wraparound social services and inflation relief last Friday, passing both chambers with a wide majority. The bill passed the House on a 93-6 vote, and the Senate approved it on a 37-9 vote. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law that night.
Register for 2022 IBA Regional Meetings
Three regional meetings remain in Richmond, Bloomington and New Albany. The New Albany regional meeting has been rescheduled for Oct. 17. Be a part of the these meetings to facilitate grassroots communication between the bankers we serve and the legislators who serve our state. The meetings will include an hour-long update on the IBA, including legislative information and advocacy opportunities. Following the update, local legislators from the Indiana General Assembly will join bankers for lunch. Each meeting begins at 11:00 a.m. local time.
New Albany (NEW DATE) – October 17
The Exchange Pub
118 W Main Street
New Albany, IN 47150
Richmond – August 29
Olde Richmond Inn
138 South 5th Street
Richmond, IN 47374
Bloomington – August 30
Graduate Hotel
210 East Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Senate Democrats Pass Reconciliation Package
After months of negotiating, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to address selected portions of the Biden administration's agenda for climate change, healthcare and tax policy. The final legislation passed after review by the Senate parliamentarian and with the participation of Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the deciding vote in the evenly divided Senate.
Several changes were made to the bill following negotiations with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and a weekend of voting on various amendments. Among other changes, tweaks were made to a provision regarding the book minimum tax (which affects corporations with income more than $1 billion) – including additional favorable adjustments for depreciation, selected amortization and controlled groups. Changes originally proposed to the taxation of "carried interest" were dropped and not included in the final bill. To offset the revenue effects of these changes, a 1% stock buyback excise tax on public companies and an extension of the excess business loss limitations were added to the bill.
The legislation adds $80 billion to the IRS budget to improve tax compliance, enforcement and service. Notably, a controversial reporting provision that would have required banks to report information on gross inflows and outflows on customer accounts above a certain de minimis level was omitted from the reconciliation package.
Republicans Aim to Raise Pressure on Financial Agencies
Amid expectations that they will gain control of the House, Republican lawmakers are reportedly preparing to launch inquiries into some Securities and Exchange Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau activities, with particular focus on whether the regulators have overstepped their authority at times. Meanwhile, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have requested more details on allegations that the Federal Reserve concealed key documents on the relationship between fintech Reserve Trust and former Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin.
Bowman Raises Concerns About Proposed CRA Changes
A proposed overhaul of Community Reinvestment Act regulations does not adequately account for the costs and benefits of certain provisions in the draft rule, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman opined during a speech to the Kansas Bankers Association. While saying she was a supporter of the fundamentals behind CRA, Bowman expressed concern that banking agencies are moving ahead with changes without attempting to either ensure or analyze whether the benefits exceed the costs, which she called a fundamental element of effective regulation.
Bowman also raised concerns about a proposed review of the regulatory framework for analyzing bank mergers, announced earlier this year by the Justice Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Bowman said she would be worried about any changes that make mergers more difficult for small and regional banks and urged banks to submit feedback on the proposal. She also said changes must address longstanding issues with the existing merger framework, such as its failure to account for new technologies and competition from credit unions and other nonbank actors.
Finally, Bowman acknowledged that while the return to onsite bank examination is continuing, progress has been somewhat slow. "That said, the Fed intends to return to some form of on-site supervision. We find substantial value in those in-person interactions during bank examinations."
FHFA Adds to Scope of Servicers' Fair Lending Data Collection
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will require servicers to obtain and maintain borrowers' fair lending data on loans they service, and to ensure that the data is included in servicing transfers throughout the mortgage term, according to a Wednesday notice from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The data collected will include borrowers' age, race, ethnicity and gender, along with their preferred language. Servicers will be required to implement the change beginning March 1 of next year.
"Having fair lending data travel with servicing will help servicers do the important work of providing assistance to borrowers in need, helping to further a sustainable and equitable housing finance system," said FHFA Director Sandra Thompson, adding that the need for fair lending data collection was a result of the foreclosure crisis and COVID-19 response.
Freddie Mac issued a bulletin on the new requirement noting that the data elements must be stored in a format that can be searched, queried, and transferred. Fannie Mae also released an updated servicing guide related to the new requirements.